If you have a juicer like mine, chances are good that you have fought a battle with it to clean that nasty stain off it. I tried everything I could think of. The only thing that seemed to work was scraping it off with a very sharp object. Today I decided to try again to find a more acceptable and less time consuming solution. Most of the web sites were absolutely useless, saying that it’s important to clean it immediately after use. Thanks. Duh! But, I’m here to tell ya that even if you are diligent about cleaning it immediately, a nasty film will eventually catch up to you…especially in the little grooves that are all over the dang machine! And more importantly, someone needs to inform these cleaning experts that sometimes life happens and that this machine might have to wait to be cleaned while you take a phone call and then have to go to the school to pick up your sick child!

Anyway, I digress. What I really wanted to tell you, was that I did find the solution! Straight white vinegar and baking soda, combined with a scrubbing device and a little elbow grease! I can’t believe I wouldn’t have tried this before! Maybe I diluted it before, or tried to soak the machine parts like so many sites suggested…don’t bother doing that…it’s a waste of time. Here’s how you do it…

Dump baking soda directly on the area you want to clean. Pour just a little vinegar directly on the baking soda. (Maybe let it sit for 1/2 a minute or so). Take a scrubbing device and (guess what)…scrub! I used a couple of different scrubby devices for the different surfaces…a toothbrush for the tiny grooves, a vegetable brush for the blade thing, and a plastic scrubby thing for the rest of the surfaces (brain fart…can’t tell ya what that thing is called). The toothbrush was not quite small enough to do a great job, so if you have an even smaller brush…go with it.

Oh yeah, a prevention tip: when it’s all nice and clean, take a little vegetable oil and spread a thin layer of it all over the areas that will be touched by the food. (I thought of this when I heard a tip that spraying tupperware with cooking spray would keep it from getting stained by tomato-based products).

Here’s a picture to show you. Part of it is clean. Part of it isn’t…

Disgusting, right? How could I continue feeling like “good mommy” by making juice in that disaster? So, tomorrow, maybe it’ll be a “good mommy” day!